Brands' Pivot Towards Planet Continues

Whether it is Tetra Pak and Milkbasket coming together to make the recycling of used cartons easier or Coca Cola introducing bottles with caps attached to them for easier recycling or Hyundai encouraging its customers to opt for Dry Wash or Blue Dart signing the UNFCCC's 'Climate Neutral Now Pledge', each of the brands today are aiming to create a lasting positive impact as #OnlyOneEarth calls for immediate transformative action to protect our planet. 

No longer are the social impact issues reserved for volunteers and nonprofit organisations. Just as consumers are appearing to be more concerned about the environmental issues, brands too are leading, responding and joining the fight to bring about an effective impact.

We spoke with experts across sectors whose generous efforts are directed toward protecting the planet in their own unique ways:

Rajesh Uttamchandani, Director, Syska believes that now is the time for each brand to be conscious of their production activities, re-evaluate their actions, and turn toward more sustainable living. "Brands should focus on developing solutions that cater to evolving consumer behaviour patterns and aid in the restoration of the environment. It is critical to the transition to a more sustainable business model. We believe in embracing energy-efficient lighting solutions that are not only sustainable but save up to 70% on electricity. In addition, using wires that integrate Indo-European technology can save up to 3% energy. Furthermore, adopting fans with BLDC technology can save up to 50% on power," he suggests. 

Talking from the perspective of the food industry, Shraddha Bhansali, Co-Founder and COO, Evo Foods feels that we are still eating the same eggs as our ancestors, with the only difference of better packaging. "The current food system is inefficient, unsustainable and not equipped to feed the future generations. At EVO, we make plant-based eggs that are delicious, nutrient-dense and affordable, while keeping the environmental impact minimum. In relation to animal eggs, EVO eggs require 60% less land, use 90% less water and release 91% less CO2."

Bala Sarda, Founder & CEO, VAHDAM India emphasises that this is the age of responsibility and that today's brands are equally concerned about the impact of their products as the customers and are trying to imbibe sustainability in their DNA and integrate holistic sustainability into their business practices and conduct. "The journey has started and it is indeed the need of the hour," he adds.

Coming to the logistics industry, moving goods from one place to another remains a highly inefficient process and digitisation and automation in this sphere will make a big impact in terms of environmental sustainability. "More and more brands are using logistics automation software to digitise operations and bring in efficiency. For instance, in a food delivery scenario, a lot of driver allocation and delivery is based on manual processes. At LogiNext, we have been driving the use of route planning software, which leverages technology to help brands batch orders and guide drivers along the most eco-friendly routes for delivery to the end customer," explains Dhruvil Sanghvi, CEO, LogiNext.

To sum up, Hima Bulusu, Associate Director, Key Accounts, TheSmallBigIdea agrees, "The consumer has always had good intentions but for the longest time, sustainability did not equate to affordable or even good. This is where brands are now stepping up. From electric cars to sustainably grown groceries, and everything in between, brands are finally actively working towards R&D of good, affordable and consumer-friendly products that are just marginally more expensive than the regular ones."

While there is still a long way to go, more and more brands must take up the onus on themselves, along with consumers encouraged to embrace sustainability in their daily lives. It will then becomes a win-win situation, for us and for our planet.